When it comes down to it, what happened in Ferguson, Missouri was inexcusable. Officer Darren Wilson did not live up to the oath he took to protect the people of his community and took advantage of the power given to him. However, all police officers should not be placed in the stereotype that Wilson chose to be a part of.
My father has been a state trooper for going on seventeen years and he does not fit the prejudiced cop description. He’s a man that actually lives up to how officers of the law should behave when interacting with the public and knows that he isn’t invincible and his actions do have consequences when he puts his badge on. It’s sad to say, but he is an oddity. Most cops do believe that they can do whatever they please once they put that uniform on. They forget that they have made a commitment to their communities to treat each person equally and in accordance of the law.
The point is that we shouldn’t place every police officer out there with Darren Wilson. We should actually give them a chance to prove they are different. There are a few truly good officers out there, my father being one of them.
Before you judge them, you must see how they act when they are called to a situation and remember that they are regular people as well; some are good and some aren’t so good.
When people group my dad in that prejudiced category, I want them to know that he’s a father and grandfather that taught his children that everyone was created equally and some of the things other officers do is indeed wrong. My dad is without a doubt one of the greatest men I’ve ever met and I know that he will always treat everyone equally, because that is what he taught me to do.
I do believe, however, that there does need to be a change in how most officers behave because what many of them have been doing is completely unacceptable. An innocent teenager in Missouri should be carrying on his life right now, but he’s not because of an ignorant police officer. Something in this system must be changed. RIP Michael Brown.
